


ZK December Drabbles 2020

by halcyyonn



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Children of Characters, Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Zutara, Zutara Drabble December 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27913849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halcyyonn/pseuds/halcyyonn
Summary: The drabbles I write for ZK Drabble December on Tumblr!Prompts in titles
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 9
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	1. Nightfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adult Zuko and Katara spend time out on a balcony under the stars.

The stars and the moon were slowly fading back into existence as day turned into night. Katara and Zuko were out on one of the many balconies in the Fire Nation palace, watching the sky fade through colour after colour. Neither of them said anything, but the space, or lack thereof, said more than words ever could.

While they hadn’t spoken about what was going on between them, there had been a few moments that were just a little too romantic for them to be friends and nothing more. A few times where their faces had been a little too close when sneaking out at night, not to mention the sneaking out in the middle of the night in the first place. Then there were all those looks across rooms during meetings and dinners and when they passed each other in the hallway, yet neither was brave enough to make the first move. 

Yet tonight was different. Both Katara and Zuko were itching to say something about their feelings, anything really. Keeping those feelings bottled up for so long was beginning to drag on them and they both knew everything would come out eventually. It was just a matter of when. 

The stars they were gazing up at tonight were the same ones they had travelled under for months, the ones that had moved across the sky while they camped, and the same ones that had watched over them through every victory and every loss. They had seen Zuko and Katara grow closer and closer before being pulled apart and thrown back together over and over again until fate dragged them towards other people. 

But fate had changed its mind. 

It was just them standing there, not having to worry about either of their lives outside this moment. No Fire Lord duties, no work to rebuild the Southern Water Tribe, no dating the Avatar or the girl you’ve been dating before your exile. Just them. Zuko and Katara. 

Their arms brushed together a little more and they both blushed, hoping the other wasn’t about to leap away as if they had been burned. Neither of them moved. With arms pressed a little closer together, they kept their eyes on the stars. Or tried to. 

Only seconds passed before their eyes met again, torn away from the stars and the moon to gaze upon the other. Just like when their arms had touched moments ago, neither of them looked away. They wanted to lean closer, to press their lips together and let the world fade away around them, but doubt clouded all of that. 

What if they were being presumptuous? What if they misreading signals? Would this ruin their friendship? Could they live with those consequences?

But on the other hand, could they live with the consequences of never being honest to themselves?

“Katara, I want to tell you something.”

“So do I.”

The tension dissipated slightly when they smiled softly at each other, and Zuke gestured to the bench behind them with a sweeping gesture. “Should we sit down? There are so many things I have to say.”

Doubts and fears had no place here. Katara sat down, patting the bench next to you. “I’ll listen until the end of time.”

“And I would do the same for you.”

Night had well and truly fallen by the time they were finished speaking, but neither cared. They would keep talking as long as they had words to say, and would stay by each others’ side well after that. Neither of them could imagine otherwise.


	2. Please Don't Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara tries to get Zuko to rest he took a bolt of lightning to the chest in the final Agni Kai.

She could tell from the way Zuko winced whenever he moved that the lightning injury still hurt. Even with all the healing she had done, he had been hit in the chest with a bolt of lightning without redirecting it properly. For her. He had put his life in danger and expected to not come back out the other side, and all for her. 

“You still need to rest. You’re only going to make your injury worse if you keep pacing the room.”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, I promise. You healed everything and I’m right as rain. Besides, someone has to take over for my father, and I’m the only one that can do that. Peace has been delayed long enough.” Zuko barely glanced over at Katara before continuing his trek around the room, pages upon pages of official documents in his hands. Every few steps, or whenever he turned a page, he jostled the injury hidden beneath a layer of bandages, and it showed.

“Please don’t lie, Zuko. Your work can wait for a little bit longer, but you need to get better as soon as possible. Take a break and sit back down.”

“I’m not lying. I’m fine, really. No pain at all.” As if to demonstrate, Zuko made moved his arms suddenly and paid for it. His eyes scrunched up as the pain hit him immediately, and his shoulders hunched as he tried to stop himself crumpling into a ball. Katara was beside him in seconds.

“Rest.” She gently took the papers from his hands and placed them on a table nearby before taking most of his weight and guiding him back to the bed he had only just escaped. “I’m going to get some more water and come back. Just stay still and try to avoid making your injury worse.” 

“Okay.” Suddenly he had no more protests, but Katara wasn’t going to complain. Zuko’s coronation was approaching them quickly, and the last thing he wanted was to be wincing in front of everyone. But he could only avoid that if he didn’t keep jostling himself around so much. 

Katara returned soon after and pulled water around her hands before pressing them against the lightning scar. A twinge of guilt flickered, knowing that if she had just stayed behind that pillar this wouldn’t have happened. But what was done was done, and there was no changing the past now. 

“Thank you, Katara.” He had said those three words so many times recently that Katara could hear him saying them, even when they weren’t near each other. But she didn’t mind because it meant that he was still with her, and they were both going to be fine. 

“You don’t have to thank me every time I do this. This is the least I can do, everything considered.”

“What if I want to thank you for everything? You’re the one that defeated Azula, and you saved me. Without you, who knows where the world would be? You’re incredible, Katara.”

She almost dropped the water she was holding in embarrassment, but she just managed to hold onto it. Her face was undoubtedly bright red, but she tried to slow the fluttering of her heart by focusing on her healing. Zuko meant that as a friend, surely.

A gentle hand on her cheek guided her eyes back to Zuko’s. He was completely sincere when he said, “I’m going to be thanking you until the end of time, and even then it won’t be enough.”

“I’m going to hold you to that promise.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”


	3. Heavy Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fire Lady Katara is visiting her family and the Southern Water Tribe but Zuko doesn't want her to go.

“I don’t want you to go.” Zuko had his arms wrapped around Katara’s waist as they sat next to each other in bed. She was reading a letter from her brother but set it aside to smile at Zuko.

“It’s only for a few weeks and then I’ll be back before you know it.” She placed one arm on Zuko’s back and started to draw circles. “And we can send each other letters.”

“Can’t you make up an excuse and not go? Just say you’re busy or something.”

Katara’s giggle made Zuko’s heart flutter just as much as it always did, but he knew she had to go home for a few weeks. “Everyone is expecting me, and I promised to help make some new walls around the village. There aren’t a lot of other people that can build walls as quickly as I can.”

“But I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, but I’m coming back. I promise.”

A few days later and Katara was getting onto the boat that would take her home. She and Zuko had already said goodbye before he was pulled into a meeting he couldn’t escape, but Katara did secretly wish that he could say goodbye to her here instead. It was selfish, but she couldn’t help it.

Her heart was heavy, just as she knew Zuko’s was, but she kept reminding herself that it was only a few weeks until they would be reunited. She would have enough to do at home to keep her busy and keep her mind away from missing her husband, but she could still miss him enormously.

The boat was pulling away from the dock when a messenger hawk landed on the railing where Katara was leaning. It had the royal seal pressed into the wax of the letter and Katara smiled instinctively. She had barely left and Zuko was already sending her letters. Katara quickly unwrapped the message and read it.

_ I miss you already, are you sure you can’t make excuses to not go? _

The hawk was still sitting in front of her, waiting for a response. Katara grabbed a piece of paper and some ink, scribbling a few words quickly before letting the ink dry.

_ I miss you too, but I’ve already promised. _

Katara rolled the message back up and quickly sealed it before sending the hawk back to Zuko, note secured to its leg. The bird returned soon after, looking slightly tired but still waiting patiently for its job to be over.

_ I know. I love you. _

_ I love you, too. I’ll see you when I get back. _


	4. Blame It On Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Future AU where Zuko tries to help Izumi and Kya hide from their mother after tracking mud into the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, I decided to make Izumi and Kya twins. Izumi is a firebender and heir to the throne, and Kya is a waterbender.

The track of mud led straight from the turtle duck pond outside into Izumi and Kya’s bedroom. When Katara followed the small footsteps into the room where she found two princesses hiding behind a curtain and giggling. 

“I wonder where these footsteps lead.” The giggles behind the curtain increased as Katara got closer, and then she heard another voice. Zuko was behind the curtain with their daughters. 

“Just blame it on me, no one will be able to tell the difference.” He was whispering conspiratorially, making the twins laugh. Katara smiled, her heart swelling with love for her family. How had she gotten so lucky?

“The trail ends,” Katara pulled the curtain aside, revealing the two culprits and their partner in crime, “here!

Izumi and Kya both giggled before trying to run off, only to be caught by the two water whips that wrapped around them and pulled them back towards their parents. 

“You two need to clean your feet before coming back inside with mud everywhere. You can practise your waterbending, Kya.” Crouching down between her children, Katara moved the water around them to clean the mud away before bending it out a window. She kissed both of their foreheads before letting them go and turning to stand facing Zuko. “As for you, why are you helping turn the palace into a giant mud puddle?”

“I would never do anything like that, you must be confusing me with someone else. Fire Lord Zuko isn’t that type of person.”

“Of course, Fire Lord Zuko has far too much honour to help his children try to hide from their mother. There must have been someone else behind that curtain with them.”

“Should we have the palace searched? Who knows who it could have been.”

“I think I know who it was.”

“Oh?”

Grinning, Katara rose to her tiptoes and kissed Zuko quickly before dropping back to her normal height. “I think I have everything under control, so don’t worry.”

“With you in charge, I never will.”


	5. Little Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Katara talk by the turtle duck pond because I have no idea what to write for this prompt.

Zuko was out sitting by the turtle duck pond, throwing pieces of bread to them. He had so much work to do, but everything was starting to get to him and he was stressed. Between the war reparations and all the plans needed to return and repatriate the Fire Nation soldiers alone, there were stacks of official documents scattered around Zuko’s room that were steadily climbing towards the roof each day. He knew he would be busy, but this was becoming overwhelming quickly. 

Katara had been looking for Zuko for almost half an hour when a servant told her that the new Fire Lord often went to the turtle duck pond with his mother as a child, as well as giving her directions. Katara had thanked them before heading on her way, determined to make sure Zuko was alright. He had been so busy recently that Katara was starting to worry he would work himself to exhaustion, especially so soon after the Agni Kai with Azula. 

Just as the servant had predicted, Zuko was sitting cross-legged next to the pond, watching the ducklings follow their mother around the water. Katara sat next to him with a simple ‘hi’ to announce her presence.

“Hi, Katara.” Zuko tore the remainder of the bread in half and handed one section to Katara, who immediately followed his lead and began to tear little pieces off to throw to the ducks. “How did you know where to find me?” 

“Someone inside mentioned you came here a lot with your mother, so I thought it would be a good place to check.” The turtle ducks didn’t seem to mind the new person, happily bumping each other out of the way to get to the bread she was throwing to them. “I hope you don’t mind me being here.”

“You’re welcome here whenever you want.”

“Are you okay? You’ve been working a lot, it doesn’t seem healthy. Everyone is starting to worry.” Katara glanced to Zuko just in time to see a flicker of emotion cross his face. Was that guilt? He didn’t have to be guilty about them worrying because that was what friends did, look out for each other. Zuko was part of their group, so they would care about him just as much as any other friend. 

“There’s so much to do, I’m sorry for making you all worry.”

“You don’t have to apologise, Zuko. Is there anything we can do to share the work?”

“I don’t want to ask you to do that. I knew what I was getting myself into when I stepped up to be the Fire Lord, shirking my duties now isn’t an option.”

“Don’t forget that it took all of us to get this far, and we still have a fair bit of free time. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help. After all, we are Team Avatar.”

Zuko thought for a moment. Katara was right, again. There would have been no chance of them defeating both Ozai and Azula without working together, even he wouldn’t have been able to defeat his sister without Katara there to save him. But they had already done so much for the world, and this job fell squarely on his shoulders. 

“It doesn’t have to be much. Sokka is really good at plans, and I’m sure Toph would be happy to use her bending to build and repair housing. I can help heal people, and Suki can do pretty much everything. We’re here to help the world return to how it was before the war started.”

Those words were enough. Zuko nodded, finally realising that all this work was taking a toll on him. His neck hurt, and he hadn’t eaten much because he didn’t want to take a break from working. If his friends were offering to help, surely he could accept it. The Fire Nation needed a change, and change had to start somewhere. “If you’re willing to help, I would be more than thankful.”

“You just need to say the words, Fire Lord.” Katara grinned, and Zuko couldn’t help but grin back for the first time since he was crowned.


	6. Are You Lonely?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Full moons made it hard to sleep for Katara, but a certain firebender couldn't sleep, either.

Full moons always came with a sudden burst of energy that made it hard for Katara to sleep. Thankfully, full moons only lasted for a few days at a time, but the nights where she was the only one awake were lonely and quiet, not to mention exhausting after the full moon ended. 

Zuko had begun to notice that Katara seemed to sleep less when there was a full moon, and being someone who had gone days without sleeping at times knew how isolating spending entire nights alone could be. Which is why he ended up sitting next to Katara as she looked out into the distance on the first night of the next full moon, and was the only reason. Or at least that was what he tried to tell himself. “Are you lonely?”

“Only a little bit, at least I know everyone will wake up again in the morning and I won’t be the only one awake anymore. But why are you still awake, you’re not a waterbender?” While Katara didn’t want to spend another full moon alone through the long nights, she also didn’t want Zuko to sacrifice his own sleep for her sake. She could find something to occupy her mind with for a few nights, it was nothing new.

“I have trouble sleeping every so often, so I thought keeping you company would be better than just lying there, chasing sleep that doesn’t want to be caught.” He had spent more than enough nights doing that while he was on his ship, as well as even more nights in the Earth Kingdom, to know that company was always appreciated. 

“Are you sure?”

“Very much so.”

Katara nodded, glad she had someone to talk to. After confronting her mother’s killer, they had actually become friends and had quickly gotten closer and closer each moment they spent together. Despite being opposites in so many ways, they got on well. It had just taken a while for her to trust him after they had spent so much time in a convoluted game of cat and mouse around the four nations. 

“Do you always have trouble sleeping during full moons?”

“When I was little I was just a bit hyperactive, but I only started having trouble sleeping after we met Aang. Maybe it was the stress of almost constantly being on the run or the pressure of saving the world that caused it.” Katara traced a finger through the dirt by her, drawing the symbol of the water tribes. She missed her home and she missed only having to worry about normal things rather than the fate of the world. But those days were long gone, and they could only keep moving forward from here.

Hours passed and they continued to talk, with Katara’s eyelids starting to droop, which surprised her. Eventually, she gave up trying to stay awake and let herself falling asleep, causing her to rest on Zuko’s shoulder. 

Zuko almost jumped before realising what had happened. He went bright red, not knowing how to react before deciding to just let Katara sleep. If she was having trouble sleeping during full moons, it would be harsh to wake her now. A little while later, Zuko fell asleep too, which is how their friends found them the next morning, leaning against the other, well and truly asleep.


	7. Caught In The Moment

Neither of them knew who had kissed the other, or who had pulled away first. All they knew was that they had been laughing about something, ended up much closer to the other, then kissing before leaping apart, stammering and trying to put as much distance between them as possible. It had been a few days since, and they were still avoiding each other, not even being able to make eye contact with each other. 

Their friends had begun to notice, even Toph had commented about how weird they were acting. But Zuko and Katara were too embarrassed to actually say anything to the other, so the lack of communication continued. And it sucked. They both missed each other, but didn’t want to risk making the situation worse by saying the wrong thing.

Eventually, Toph had enough. The awkward air was hanging over everyone, but she had the perfect solution. Nothing solved problems like locking two people in a rock box until they talked their issues out. Which is exactly what she planned to do. 

After asking both Katara and Zuko to help her with some unspecified task at different points in the day, Toph waited at the decided meeting point. The second she felt Zuko and Katara approaching, she pulled sheets of rock from the ground, making a box rather than her normal tent shape.

“Toph, what are you doing?” Katara tried to avoid looking at Zuko, already feeling her face start to heat up at being this close to him. However, she was ignored and Toph dropped a lid on the box, leaving Zuko and Katara in complete darkness. “Let us out!”

“Not until you fix whatever problem you’re having! See ya!” Toph ran off, pretending she didn’t hear the protests from both parties trapped in the rock box behind her. 

For a moment, neither of them said or did anything. It was so awkward they barely wanted to breathe in case they made it worse. Eventually, Zuko couldn’t stand being this close to Katara without saying anything, so he lit a small flame in his palm, careful to keep it much closer to himself than to Katara. “I’m sorry.”

He really was. Not that he hadn’t wanted to kiss Katara, but he was sorry that he had made Katara uncomfortable. It was obvious from the way she had reacted that she didn’t feel the same way about him. She had even started to avoid him, and in order to keep from making Katara more uncomfortable he had followed suit and kept his distance. 

Unbeknownst to Zuko, Katara’s thoughts about their distance were very similar. While Zuko thought he was mirroring Katara’s actions, Katara thought he had just begun to avoid her rather than speak about what had happened, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She was still mad now, standing almost chest to chest with Zuko himself. 

“That’s all you have to say? After avoiding me for this long, all you have to say is sorry?!” At her harsh words, Zuko flinched. She was much angrier than he had thought, which was understandable. 

“I shouldn’t have kissed you without confirming whether you felt the same way, and for that, and for avoiding you, I apologise.”

“When did I say the kiss was the problem?! You just started avoiding me afterwards and you wouldn’t talk to me at all! I just wanted to know what was going through your head.”

“You don’t regret kissing me?”

“Not at all! Where did you get that idea?”

“I thought you were avoiding me.”

Katara smiled and Zuko thought he could feel his heart begin to beat a little bit too fast. “I wasn’t avoiding you, Zuko. I though you were avoiding me.”

“Never.” They smiled at each other in the half life of the fire in Zuko’s palm, glad that Toph scheming had finally managed to get them to work their problems out.


	8. Tiny Shivers

It had been a while since Katara had seen rain, and she was determined to make the most of it. Which is how she ended up outside as water fell from the sky, arms outstretched as she was surrounded by water, feeling it call to her. Though she had grown up surrounded by snow and ice, it was incredibly different to rain. But she was a waterbender, and she could still feel the connection to all types of water, frozen or not. 

Katara was so busy enjoying her time in the rain that she didn’t notice Zuko appearing through the doors behind her, a smile on his face. He was still a few steps away from the rain but could feel the coolness the water carried with it. Seemingly, Katara did not feel the same, because her clothes and hair were completely soaked, but she didn’t look like she cared in the slightest.

Then Katara turned and their eyes met. “Come on, the rain is beautiful!”

Unable to resist Katara’s smile, Zuko stepped out from under the cover and walked over to her. The rain soaked his clothes and hair almost instantly, but he was too captivated by the waterbender in front of him. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t take long for Zuko to regret that decision, because less than a day later he was sick. Tiny shivers and a fever plagued him for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only a couple of days. In that time, Katara had all but ignored the rain outside in favour of looking after Zuko, ensuring he was always comfortable and on the road to recovery. 

While Zuko didn’t get the chance to properly thank her, he really appreciated everything Katara had done for him, especially since he had gotten himself into this situation in the first place. But he really didn’t mind Katara being around him this much, even though he wasn’t jumping to tell her that because then he might have to admit some feelings that he still thought were just a little bit embarrassing. Maybe Katara would find out in the future, and with any luck, his feelings wouldn’t be one-sided. It was only a hope, though, a dream Zuko had accepted the unlikeliness of actually living.


	9. Lock and Key

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kataang and Maiko didn't happen in this one :)

They had been sending each other letters for quite some time after Zuko was crowned. Each time a letter arrived, Zuko would drop almost anything to read it, and the things that he couldn’t drop he was distracted from until he could read the letter. After each letter was read, it was placed in a special box dedicated specifically to Katara’s letters and kept under lock and key to ensure they remained completely and utterly private. 

Aside from the lock on the box, Zuko also kept the letters hidden away inside his rooms. He spoke to no one about them except his uncle during either of their visits, and he ensured the guards outside his doors understood there were important diplomatic documents inside. They didn’t need to know the ‘diplomatic documents’ were actually letters from the girl he was head over heels in love with.

It was just a small detail that no one needed to know about.

Katara also kept her letters from Zuko secure and away from prying eyes. Though she didn’t have guards outside doors to ensure no one found them, she did have her own defences in place. No one was getting to those letters except her, and Katara was sure of it.

The contents of all their letters were a secret to anyone that wasn’t Zuko or Katara, which is how the pair intended the letters to stay. Permanently.


End file.
